Artificial cork.



MELCHOR MARSA, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE INTERNATIONAL CORKCOMPANY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

ARTIFICIAL CORK.

No Drawing.

furthermore to a method of making' such substance.

In closures of this type a packing disk of cork is ordinarily made useof. But, inas- {much as there are many defects in the natural cork wood,for instance those resulting from the presence of insect life therein.and since there are veins running through the natural cork, and as thedisks are comparatively thin and the veins mentioned sometimes verydeep, it is almost impossible to cut disks which are impermeable togases and liquids. Due to this fact the disks have to be subjected,after cutting, to further treatment so as to make them inipermeable. Forthese reasons and also because the natural supply of cork wood isgrowing all the time scarcer, it has been long sought to produce asubstitute or artificial cork which lacks the defects above mentioned ofthe natural cork, but otherwise has all the peculiar characteristics ofthe same. \Vhile it has been comparatively easy to produce a compositionof matter to be shaped and used as bottle stoppers or articles of likegreat dimensions, it has been found almost impossible to prepare acompound of which disks for closures of the type above mentioned couldPbeinade, which have the characteristics 0 the natural cork wood and arefree from the objections above stated. For instance, the bindingmaterial of'some of these disks is odorous and objectionable on thatground; in other cases it is permeable to liquids or gases containingalcohol; still in other cases it is affected by heat and rendered to a.large extent soluble, thus making the packing useless, andcontaminating, on the other hand, the liquid contents of the bottle.()ther binding materials are coagulated by the aid of chemicals, whichact upon the liquid contents of Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 24, 1913. Serial N 0. 731.670.

the bottles to which the closures are applied, thus causing the contentsto be inurious to the health of the consumer. Finally, in most, if notinall of the compositions heretofore in use, the binding material is mixedwith the cork or similar granules under conditions which prevent anintimate 'union between these two ingredients.

The main object of the present invention is to produce a composition ofmatter of which disks for closures of the type above mentioned can bemade, which are free from the objections above named and also fromothers hereinafter to be stated.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple process for thepreparation of such compound, whereby the cost of production thereof isgreatly reduced, thereby resulting in a cheapness of the final product.

lVith these and other objects in view, the invention consists in thecomposition of matter and the method of making the same hereinafterfully described and pointed out in the appended claim, it being obviousthat while herein specified proportions of the ingredients of thecomposition are stated, several changes may be made within the scope ofthe appended claim without departing from the spirit or sacrificing anyof the advantages of the invention.

The invention consists in reducing the cork or other ligueous substanceto a finely divided condition of granular form, heating the saidgranules and mixing with the same a suitable binder in liquid form, saidbinder being adapted to be coagulated and rendered insoluble by heat,and finally subjecting the composition to heat and pressure in molds.

The cork or other ligneous substance, preferably, waste cork or otherwaste ligneous material, is granulated by any suitable means, andsubjected to treatment with a view to remove the impurities therefrom.After this treatment, the granules are bleached, if found necessary, andheated to a temperature of about 110 Fahrenheit. Cork wood consists ofthin walled cells filled with air and is destitute of intercellularspaces. In subjecting such material toheat, the air in the cells thereofexpands and increases the volume of the granules. The uneven, brokensurfaces of the granules increase 'thus in roughness and present largesurfaces to the liquid binding material with which they are mixed in amanner hereinafter described. liloreover. the heated granules mix easierwith the binding material than if they were of the temperature of thelatter.

The binding material consists of the blood of animals which has beenfreed from its fibrin, for instance by whipping the fresh blood as itflows from the animal with twigs. This defibrinated substance, whichretains its liquid state for a considerable time, is mixed withturpentine, which acts as a preservative, and on account of its oxygenahsorbing properties. when exposed to the air and at the same timebleaches the defibrinated substance to some extent. Glycerin is thenadded to the mixture, said glycerin serving mainly to soften the corkgranules which are under ordinary circumstances dry and hard. Theingredients of the liquid are thoroughly mingled by agitation, and addedto the heated cork granules, in which they are thoroughly incorporatedin any suitable manner. The compound is then left to dry at a lowtemperature of about 75 Fahrenheit or less, the same being allowed tostand until a nearly dry mass .is obtained. ()bviously if the blood werenot preserved, it would easily decay while thus standing, rcndering thecompound useless. The material is then put. for instance. intocylindrical molds, the diameters of which are equal to those of the corkdisks to be manufactured, and subjected to pressure, after which themolds with the compound therein are submitted to a temperature of about240 F a11- renheit for about an hour in dry heat, which coagulates thebinding material and at the same time renders it insoluble. The rods soobtained are then removed From the molds and cut to disks by anysuitable means. Obviously other molds may be used just as well.

Preferably, the ingredients are combined in the proportions stated, viz:

Cork granules 48 parts by weight Defibrinatcd blood 28 parts by weightOil of turpentine 1 part by weight yc rim. 12 parts by weight It is tobe observed that the eiiect ot' the heat upon the mass is to render theliquid ingredients of the composition impermeable to liquids and gasesand insoluble, the pressure serving to produce a nonporous body, the.binding material filling completely the interstices between the cork orother ligneons granules.

()wing to the low cost of the ingredients and the simple process. acomparatively cheap product is obtained which successfully competes withdisks made of natural corkwood. It does not disintegrate. is neitheraffected by boiling or alcohol. is tasteless and inodorous, and hasample elasticity and tenacity.

\Vhat I claim is:-

An artificial cork composed of a granular base, and a binding materialcontaining defibrinated blood rendered insoluble. and turpentine andglycerin mixed therewith.

Signed at New York. in the county of New York, and State of New York,this 19th day of September, A. I). 1913.

MELCIIOR MARSA.

lVitncsses:

SIGM'UND Hnnzoo, S. BIRNBAUM.

